Electric circuit molding



Oct. 31, 1944. VAN ER 2,361,721

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT MOLDING Filed Oct. 2, 1941 zof 23 20 20 INVENTOR H. R. VAN DEVENTER A TTORWE Y5.

Patented Oct. 31, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlc ELECTRIC CIRCUIT MOLDING Harry R. Van Deventer, New York, N. Y. Application @ctober 2, i941, Serial No. 413,319

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in electric circuit moldings which include continuous conductors whereby the circuit may be plugged into at any desired point or points throughout the length of the molding.

This application is a continuation in part of my prior application, Serial Number 665,519, for Electric circuit moldings, filed April 11, 1933, now U. S. Patent No. 2,283,398, of May 19, 1942; and is directed more particularly to conductors for use in such moldings.

An object of the invention is the provision of elongated conductors of generally channeled or U shaped cross-section, the legs of which are engaged by 9. prong of an attachment plug.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a conductor, for circuit moldings, ofgeneral U shaped cross-section in which the engageable'edges are slotted transversely, the spacing of said transverse slots being in definite relation to the width of th prongs of the attachment plug so as to prevent the plug from cocking sidewise.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an elongated conductor for circuit moldings, said conductor including at least one face adapted to be engaged by a prong of an attachment plug, and having transverse slits formed therein and so spaced along the length of the conductor that a prong of an attachment plug displacing a tongue of the conductor (between two adjacent slits) is in substantially end-tend relation with the tongues on each side of the one displaced and is thereby prevented from cocking.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a channeled conductor having contact faces adapted to simultaneously engage opposite faces of an attachment plug prong, the portions bearing said contact faces being transversely slitted, thereby forming aligned tongues therebetween, so that the width of any tongue and the adjacent slits are substantially equal to the width of said prong. The prong is adapted to displace one or more tongues and lie within the space between the adjacent tongues on both sides of the one or ones displaced.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a conductor for circuit moldings comprised of an elongated metallic member supported in said molding and having a plurality of slits therein extending rearwardly from its front or engageable edge, thereby forming tongues therebetween, so spaced as to hold an attachment plug straight with the molding when a prong of said plug is placed in cooperative contact relation with said conductor.

Other objects and advantages uf the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Referring to the drawing-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a baseboard carrying a circuit molding;

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the conductors of said molding;

Figure 3 is a view, partly in section, showing an attachment plu with its prongs engaged by certain of the tongues of the conductors;

Figure 4 is a view, partly in section, taken along the lines 5-4 of Figure 3, and showing how some of the tongues of the conductors engage the prongs laterally and others engage the same endwise;

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view taken approximately on the lines 55 of Figure 3, showing how the-tongues of the conductors grip and hold the prongs of the plug and prevent the same from bein moved sidewise or cocked;

Figure 6 is a sectional view of a molding formed of resilient material particularly around the engageable edges of the conductors, and in which the conductors are formed of single strips of metal; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view of One of the conductors of the molding shown in Figure 6 wherein slits are formed therein in definite spaced relation to the width of the prong of the standard attachment plug.

In Figure 1, the numeral I0 denotes a support preferably of sheet metal having formed therein a channel II adapted to hold the elongated nonconducting casing l2 containing one or more conductors I3, I4. Two conductors will be shown in the figures which disclose an ordinary two-wire molding, although it is obvious that one or any number of conductors may be placed in the casing I2. For example, a single conductor would be employed if the molding were intended to be used as a radio antenna or two conductors could be employedfor an electric circuit with a third conductor for use as a radio antenna. As the number of conductors employed and their arrangement in the casing I2 may be varied within wide limits, these various modifications being obvious, are not shown. The non-conducting casing I2 may be molded in a single piece of any suitable length and when so made will be substantially of the form shown. This casing may be made of rubber or some similar non-conducting material in one piece in order that the adjacent lips or edges of the slots I5, I6, will be normally closed, thereby completely enclosing the conductors l3, l4.

The conductors, which are shown in Figure 2 as removed from Figure l, are preferably made of a springy material which is at the same time a good electric conductor. Materials such as phosphor-bronze, hard or spring brass, or the like, are examples of such materials, and these conductors l3, l4, may each be formed in one piece. as shown, and may have integrally extended contact surfaces, shown at 20, which are slotted or slitted at right angles to the axis of the body portion of the conductor, as indicated at 2|. This slotting makes the conductor as a whole more flexible for insertion within the casing l2,

and also aids in establishing good contact with the prongs of a connecting plug when the same is the slits establish good contact with the prong of the plug and also prevent the plug from bein cocked sidewise, as will presently be described.

Figure 4 shows an attachment plug 22 with its prong 23 engaging the conductor l3, and its prong 24 engaging the conductor l4. Normally the contact surfaces of the conductors, which due to the slitting are in fact tongues, contact each other.

It will be noted that in Figure 4 the prongs 23, 24, of the plug displace the tongues with which they are engaged so that they are no longer in alignment with the other tongues. This may be better seen in Figure 4 wherein the tongues 20' and 20 engage one lateral face of the prong 23; the tongues 20 and 20 engage the opposite lateral face of the prong 23. In addition to this. one edge ofthe prong 23 has in alignment therewith the tongues 20 and 20; and likewise the other edge has in alignment therewith the tongues 20 and 20 Slight clearances are provided between the edges of the prong and the adjacent tongues just described.

The prong 24 is engaged in the same manner by to es of the conductor l4; therefore, it can be readily appreciated that the plug 22 cannot be moved or cooked sidewise when engaged by the tongues in the manner above described.

While I have shown two tongues engaging each side of each connector plug prong, it must be distinctly understood that I may use any desired number of tongues provided their width and the widths of the slits therebetween are in definite relation to the width of the standard plug prong.

In Figure 6, I have shown a modification of the invention wherein the resilient body 25, has longitudinal slots 26 and 21 formed therein. These slots have their adjacent lips or edges normally closed through which the prongs of the attachment plug may enter the cavities 28 and 29. Embedded within the body 25 are continuous conductor 30 and 3|. The conductor 30 projects into the cavity 28 and spans a longitudinal bead 32 therein. The conductor 30 has a plurality of slits 33 formed therein which define tongues 34.

The fragmentary view of the conductor 30, shown in Figure 7, includes a fragmentary view of the plug prong 24 to show the relation between the spacing of the slots and the tongues therebetween with respect to the width of the prong.

when the prong enters the slot 28 and engages the tongues 34 on the conductor 30, the bead 32 permits the two tongues engaged by the prong to be deformed upwardly, as viewed in Figure 6, and aids in maintaining good contact therebetween.

The conductor 3| is mounted oppositely in the body 25 and projects into the cavity 29 where a bead 35 engages its tongues in the same manner as described for the bead 32, thereby causing the tongues of the conductor 3|, when deformed, to react in the opposite direction, and thereby the two prongs of the attachment plug are firmly ripped between the tongues of the conductor 30 and the tongues of the conductor 3i. The surface 33 of the cavity 23 forms an inclined plane which the end of the prong engages when the plug is inserted. The cavity 29 likewise has an inclined surface 31.

Although the invention has been disclosed in connection with the specific details of preferred embodiments thereof, it must be understood that such details are not intended to be limitative of the invention except in so far as set forth in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, an attachment plug having a pair of spaced prongs, the contact surfaces of which are substantially equal and parallel, and an electric circuit molding comprising an elongated channeled body formed of non-ferrous metal, the sides of said channel being deformed to normally contact each other, a plurality of slots in said sides at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said channel and in substantially perpendicular alignment so as to form therebetween a plurality of pairs of aligned tongues normally in contact with each other, said slots being so spaced that several of said tongues and the slots thereabout are substantially equal to the width of either of said contact faces, whereby each prong when said plug is inserted, is interposed between not less than said several pairs of tongues and the slots thereabout, the adjacent tongues serving to prevent said prongs from being cocked sidewise.

2. In combination, an attachment plug having a pair of spaced prongs, the contact surfaces of which are substantially equal and parallel, and an electric circuit molding including a resilient support, a non-ferrous conductor carried in said support, and having at least one face thereof lying in contact with said support, a curvilinear head or rim adjacent one edge of said conductor and extending longitudinally therealong to facilitate its engagement by one of said prongs, a plurality of slots extending inwardly from said last mentioned edge at right angles to the axis thereof, the webs therebetween forming tongues,

said slots being so spaced that several of said tongues and the slots thereabout are substantially equal to the width of either of said contact faces whereby each prong, when said plug is inserted, displaces and interposes itself between not less than said several pairs of tongues and the slots thereabout, the tongues adjacent to said prongs serving to prevent the latter from being cocked sidewise.

. HARRY R. VAN DEVENTER. 

